Editorial March 30, 1946 Issue

Where Is Happiness Found?

Paul Stark Seeley

Happiness for many is a will-o'-the-wisp, present today, gone tomorrow, with no certainty as to its return or continuance. Said Thomas Gray, "Happiness too swiftly flies." Yet the common desire of all of us to be happy, and to continue so, indicates that happiness has a rightful place in our individual experience.

Happiness coincides with the spiritual, true sense of Life, and cannot be found outside of it. But mankind, largely unaware of what the true sense of Life is, spends its efforts trying to find happiness in temporary material things, selfish purposes, and human persons, all of which are transient, unstable, and, in the light of divine Science, untrue. Such things can never give enduring happiness.

There is a folklore tale of a king whose life was filled with unhappiness. He was told of one of his subjects, a humble peasant, who was always happy. The informer said that if the king could borrow the peasant's shoes and wear them, he too would become happy. After a diligent search the peasant was found singing in the field as he worked. The king's servants made known to him their ruler's desire to borrow his shoes, which were said to be responsible for his happiness. But, alas, the peasant replied that he had no shoes.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Where Is Happiness Found?

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access